The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-12-03
From Kinsley. Kan.

KIssLsY, Kan Nov. 20, lss7.-Ksnsas
10 still the attraction for those seeking homes
In the New West beyond the Missouri. be-.
cause II is the State, above all others, where
the requisites Of . fertile soil, beautiful
climate, wholesome laws, wonderful sducs-
tionL facilities, and . moral, progressive
class Of citizens are to DO found. Letters
are received every day here inquiring In 70.
istion to this portion Of the State; what It,
resources are, and what Inducements 1t holds
out TO the immigrant, particularly those Of
limited means. II would take oil Of mans
time to answer oil the interrogatories Of this
character to the many who seek the Informs
ton, so have decided to offer through the
medium Of your columns short description
Of this country and what its prospects are,
believing can thus reach greater number
than it would be possible for me to do In any
other manner. shall simply present Sc.
ries Of facts; show matters as they really
exist, without any attempt at word painting
or exaggerated description.
Edwards county lies in the southern Gen.
trail part of Kansas, and is an average coun-
ty in size, containing in round numbers q
little short of four thousand acres. The soil
is deep, rich sandy loan, and will raise
anything that grows in this latitude.
The whole area Of the county is nearly
level prairie, gently undulating in some por-
tons, with about one. quarter bottom land.
These bottom lands occur along the streams,
ana are incomparably fertile valleys, averag.
ing three miles in width. The Arkansas
flows through the county, and the crops Of
the region in the State watered by this river
are world famous, their record never having
been surpassed anywhere, believe, as sta
tistics prove. Water is ebtainable every.
where, wells averaging not more than twen
ty.6ve feet, and failure to got an inexhaust.
ible supply is one of the impossibilities.
Edwards county has been settled but few
years, relatively, yet is rapidly taking rank
as one of the best in this section of the State,
and as all the government land has already
been entered, in q short time farms will
double in value, and be difficult to procure.
Not more than half the whole area is devoted
to active farming operations, and only a
small portion is fenced, a. a herd law which
prevails here makes 1t purely optional with
the owner whether he fences his land or not
The primitive prairie, of course, was natur-
ally devoid Of timber, that is, it was limited
to the margins of the streams, on account Of
the fires which annually swept over the
country. but since its settlement large groves
have been planted, so that now the landscape
more resembles that of the older States.
Kinsley, the county seat, is a handsome
town of two Thousand inhabitants, with near
ly all the metropolitan adjuncts now estab.
lished, or in process Of construction. 1t has
two railroads at present the Atchison, To.
peka & Santa Fe one of the most prominent
trans-continental lines in the country, COM
municating directly with the Atlantic and
Pacific sea coasts; the other, the Chicago.
Kansas g. Western. The Missouri Pacific is
building to this place, and will be in opera
ton from here early in the spring, connect
ing with every portion of that magnificent
system. The finest depot in the State has
just been completed here, to open for bust
ness in three or four days. Water works are
now being constructed by the city, to cost
forty thousand dollars, which are to be ready
for use in about two months. Kinsley has
fine schools and churches that of the Congre.
gational is one of the handsomest structures
of its character in this part of the State and
it has large pipe.Organ. The court house.
too, is not surpassed by any in central or
western Kansas. The streets are well graded
and the business houses, residences and
banks are comparable to those anywhere in
this section Of country while the people
are an energetic, progressive class, who are
building up city that will be commercial
and manufacturing point in the near future.
Already large beef and pork packing
house has been located here, whose plant
will occupy some fourteen acres, and employ
from four hundred and fifty to FIVE hundred
men. The ground for the erection of the
buildings will be broken by the last of the
month, and pushed as rapidly as possible,
to be ready for operation in the early spring.
A button and straw-lumber factory are also
to be established, with the probability Of
tannery and pump works to follow. Thereis
now here large sorghum mill, but it is to :
be converted into more extensive one, to
manufacture sugar from sorghum, under the
diffusion process" the new and successful
industry of Kansas. Thus It will be seen
that Kinsley has bright future before it,
and, as it has no possible rival in the county 1
must become An important point, as I have
predicted. The place has never had any
false "boom," but has kept even pace with |
the country tributary to it. Land and city
lots are not held at fabulous prices. and one